Equilibrium: Alicia's Book
by GoodBadAndEverythinInBetween
Summary: 12 teenagers are brought together because of their special abilities, but what is there to prevent war from breaking out between them?
1. Chapter 1

HI! I'M BACK!

Okay, so I could'nt stay away for too long. Here's another supernatural clique story, only they're not "endowed" anymore. I'm not guaranteeing any pairings since the story is still working itself out in my mind. I also probably won't update as much cos I'm kinda busy. So review and tell me what you think, or I might delete this.

Disclaimer: Lisi Harrison owns the characters, Masashi Kishimoto owns some ideas. Whole story disclaimed.

Suggestions, ideas, criticism welcome, as always.

Dedicated to all those awesome people who reviewed "Hell Hath No Fury Like A Massie Scorned".

PS. Watch the LXD. It's amazing, and I lovelovelove the Illister.

* * *

Equilibrium. Alicia had heard the word many times before today, mostly in physics classes with long, boring explanations of forces, masses, gravity and whatnot. Nothing interesting, for the most part, but the word had always been there in her mind, floating around and occasionally resurfacing.

The first time she had thought of this word today was when the car had tilted alarmingly as a result of her mother's attempt to dodge a looming fence. She had panicked, gripped the steering wheel, and stomped on both the brake and the gas at the same time. The vehicle had literally gone crazy, and it was only by an insane amount of luck had they both survived unscathed.

"Be a good girl, Leeshie. Write to me, darling, keep me updated! I want to know what is happening, all right? And be careful!"

"Yes, mother. All right, mother. I'll be fine, mother," deadpanned the brunette as she kissed her teary mother goodbye.

"Take care! I love you, Leesh!"

With a last sniffled "goodbye", her mother got into the car an zoomed off down the now deserted road, winding down the bends until the car was nothing more than a tiny speck in the distant horizon. Alicia sighed, then picked up both her suitcases with ease and set off up the stone steps that stretched up the hill for many miles ahead.

The noon sky was darkening, which was rather strange, because there was not the slightest sign of a thundercloud in the midst of this hot summer day. There was a sense of foreboding hanging in the air, and her stomach fluttered uneasily. Alicia shook her head at herself and continued the tedious walk up.

Voices began to fill the air as the girl rounded a large boulder next to the curving stairs, revealing an assembled group of teenagers about her age and a taller man. A brunette girl turned at the sound of her approaching footsteps, then waved cheerily and called out to the man.

"David, we've got another one. I think it's Alicia?"

"Yep, that's her," he confirmed, "now we've only got Landon left."

"Hi, I'm Layne," offered the friendly girl, extending her hand.

"So…I guess you already know my name. I don't mean to sound rude, but what exactly are we doing here?"

The man laughed.

"We're waiting for the last member to arrive, then I'll explain everything. I'm David Brooks, but please, just call me David. I'll be your teacher here."

Alicia nodded and scanned the crowd behind David. There was Layne, the friendly girl, a redheaded girl, a tanned, good-looking boy that she immediately took a liking to, a brunette boy, a cocky blonde with an irritating smirk, a blonde girl with long silky hair, a boy and a girl who looked more serious and composed than the others, and another blonde boy.

"Ah, Landon!"

The whole group of teens turned to scrutinize the new arrival, who stared back unflinchingly.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting."

His words were curt and cold, and he gave the whole group a once-over, as if looking for something.

"Hi, Landon, I'm David Brooks, your teacher here. Please just call me David. I don't do all the formal crap."

There was a brief moment of silence as everyone looked around awkwardly.

"All right, now that you're here, we should begin with introductions and a briefing of what's happening here," he pointed at the cocky boy, "Derrick, you start. Tell us about yourself, what you like, what you don't like, your plans for the future, that sort of thing."

"All right. I'm Derrick Harrington, 16, and I like playing rugby and other sports. I hate people who disrespect me. My plans for the future…hm. I don't know. Just see how it works out for me."

David gave a wry grin and nodded, the slid a pen out of his pocket and scribbled something on the inside of his wrist.

"Next."

"Hey, everyone, I'm Layne Abeley, and I'm 16. I like listening to music and reading. I dislike dark, closed-in spaces and I don't really hate anything. I want to be a doctor when I'm older."

David nodded again, scribbled on his arm, and motioned for the next person to continue.

"I'm Claire Lyons, 15, and I like being outdoors and I love sailing. I hate being indoors and any passive activities, and also people who are too serious," she paused, "I don't really have anything planned for the future."

"My name is Josh Hotz, I'm 17, and I like flying kites, playing badminton and paragliding. I hate being indoors too. I want to play badminton or paraglide professionally when I'm older."

Alicia stepped forward a bit nervously.

"I'm Alicia Rivera, I'm 16 and I like listening to music, dancing, and taking walks. I hate being in water or just anywhere off land. I also dislike shallow people. I want to take music or dancing professionally in the future."

Alicia zoned out for the rest of the introductions, only catching the occasional words as they introduced themselves.

"Massie Block, 16…dance….swimming...hot weather" The amber-eyed brunette.

"Chris Plovert…17…watersports…something involving water…" The other blonde boy.

"Kemp Hurley…16…rock climbing…sports…" The boy she'd taken a liking to.

"Dylan Marvil…17…dancing…gymnastics…water…" The noisy redheaded girl.

"Landon Crane…16…nothing much, really…" The silent, brooding boy.

"Kristen Gregory…15…reading…quiet, indoor activities…teacher…" The serious blonde girl.

"Cameron Fisher…16…playing chess…board games…author…" The stern boy with mismatched eyes.

David clapped his hands sharply, twice, snapping Alicia abruptly out of her reverie.

"I'm not sure about this, but I'll put you into groups to work with each other. I might have to switch some of you around later, after a little test, but for now, stick with your partner."

David pointed at Derrick.

"You, partner up with Massie. Layne, go with Landon. Claire, Kemp. Josh, with Alicia," he checked his arm briefly, "Chris, your partner is Dylan, Kemp, you're with Claire, and Kristen, partner up with Cameron."

The group shuffled around to find their partners. Alicia couldn't seem to recognise which of the boys was Josh, and seemed to gravitate naturally towards Kemp, but luckily, he found her.

"Hey, you're Alicia, right? I'm Josh. Nice to meet you."

They shook, and followed obediently as David led them into the main hall.

"Now," he grinned wickedly, "is when things start to get interesting."

* * *

Blah blah blah. Any guesses for what their powers are and why David sorted them like that?


	2. Chapter 2

2nd chapter...

More informations revealed in this one...

* * *

"The history of the seven elemental lands is a bloody and violent one. First, there were the seven elemental lands of Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Light, Darkness, and Spirit. The Spirit Land was known to be wise and just, and ruled over the other lands fairly and tried to stop fights. However, the Lands of Water and Fire were more warlike – the Land of Fire in particular. They both had formidable armies and abilities. The Land of Water had and the Land of Fire attacked with their massive strength. These fights were mostly nothing major and were soon resolved. The Earth and Wind lands also had disagreements and conflicts, but they would usually solve them peacefully."

He paused and studied them carefully, his gaze lingering at the edges of the group.

"But the Lands of Light and Darkness was a completely different story. The Land of Light was full of healers. The Darkness…their abilities were never fully explained. The Land of Light used to be a peaceful country, and saw no need for warriors of any sort, but with the Land of the Dark on their borders, they were constantly attacked. The Darkness believed in an eye for an eye, their own kind of justice, and in being thwarted by the Light, the two became bitter enemies. Soon, the Light lost their old beliefs of peace as they fought to become stronger. One day, a group of defenseless citizens living close to the border of the Light were savagely massacred. This triggered the major war between the two Lands, one so large that even the Spirit Land could not stop it. Both Lands were severely decimated, leaving the small amount of survivors with a bitter hatred of each other. Some of the Light wanted to fight back. Others, known as the "Elder Light", held onto their beliefs of peace, but the relationships between all the Lands were threatened, and nobody ever thought of the Land of Darkness the same way again."

There was an ominous silence as the teens digested this information with wary looks on their faces, but with fear or confusion, David couldn't tell.

"I'll explain this more once you finish this little test," started the older man.

"Wait, wait, wait," interrupted Derrick, "how does this concern us in any way?"

David smiled.

"I'll explain once you finish. Now, I want you all to hold this piece of paper in your hand and focus on it. Don't move or anything, just focus all your attention on it."

David handed each person a small piece of paper, then stood at the end of the hall and watched. After a few minutes of fruitless attempts, he smiled and held up his own piece of paper.

"Watch and learn. Try this after me."

The piece of paper drooped at the corners, then slow tore itself in half, leaving in his hand the two pieces, with a fuzzy rip in between.

"How did you do that?" gaped Dylan.

"Just trust me. Close your eyes and feel the paper in your hand. Try to rip it without moving."

The teenagers obeyed, stretching out their hands and closing their eyes. A few minutes later, he grinned and checked the writing on his arm.

"Alright, open your eyes. Everyone seems to have done it, apart from Landon and Layne. Layne, I'll speak to you later. Landon, try again."

The dark-haired boy shrugged and closed his eyes. The paper sat in his hand, unmoving. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and let his hand drop.

David's eyes narrowed.

"Alright. I'll have to talk with you and Layne later. Everyone else, take a look at your piece of paper."

Dylan and Derrick held up their smoking pieces of paper, which were black and charred around the sides. Massie's and Chris' were soaking wet, with a tear in the middle. Alicia's had crumbled in her hand, while Kemp's had broken into larger chunks. Claire's had a neat tear in the middle and Josh's had a hole punched out. Kristen's and Cam's had a cross-shaped rip.

There were confused mumbles from all around, but David held up a hand.

"Is anyone's piece of paper burnt?"

Dylan and Derrick held theirs up.

"Fire."

"Is anyone's wet and torn?"

Massie and Chris nodded.

"Water."

"A small, precise rip or hole in the middle?"

Josh and Claire showed theirs to him.

"Wind."

"A cross-shaped tear?"

Kristen and Cam nodded.

"Spirit."

"Ripped into a few pieces?"

Alicia and Kemp confirmed this.

"Earth."

Their gazes swept towards Landon and Layne when David paused.

"…which leaves us with Light and Dark."

* * *

...:)


	3. Chapter 3

If I don't get enough reviews, I might stop this story. I'm running low on creativity lately :(

* * *

"Hey, that makes sense. Emo and Hyper over there can't do much, can they?" laughed Derrick loudly.

Massie frowned.

"Normally, I'd say this in a less mean way, but you're a jerk, Derrick."

"So you see," continued David with a smirk, "the relationships between the Lands are a lot like how you're treating each other right now. I put you into those pairs on purpose, to see how well you can cope with each other, and to learn reason and restraint. There's no use arguing, and no use fighting. Light and Dark, Water and Fire, Spirit and Spirit, and Earth and Wind. So talk it out."

He turned to leave the hall, but after a second thought, paused and turned slightly.

"Oh, and Derrick? You're wrong. The Lands of Light and Darkness were the two most powerful nations."

With the teacher gone, the boy assumed his cocky grin again.

"Landon and Layne, what exactly can you do, huh?" asked Derrick tauntingly.

Layne scowled.

"I'm not going to use my abilities for fighting, plus, we don't even know how to yet," she reasoned.

"So, what have we here?" drawled a female voice from behind the group.

A young strawberry-blonde woman stepped into the hallway through the door that David had just exited.

"From what I can see, two Fires, two Waters, one Elder Light," she grimaced, "two Spirits, two Wind, two Earth, and one Dark. Quite a handful, Dave."

She stuck her head around the corner of the door.

"Had a talk with Light and Dark yet?" she called.

David's voice echoed around the corner.

"No. I was hoping you could handle the other kids while I talked to them. And for goodness sake, Myra, introduce yourself. I bet they're all wondering who the hell you are and what the hell you're doing here."

Myra walked back into the end of the hall and studied each teenager curiously.

"I'm Myra Collins, descendant of the Land of Fire as to David's lousy water heritage. Your names, please."

"Wait, hold on. Will someone please explain what's up with all this crazy Land of Fire stuff? You don't honestly expect us to believe that we're descendants or something, do you?" asked Dylan.

Myra sighed and twirled a lock of reddish hair around her finger.

"Yes, I do. God, the last bunch was so much less troublesome."

David walked in to the hall again, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, give them a break, Myra, I haven't told them that much yet."

"Well, they need to learn. You there. Fire girl. How do you think you burnt the piece of paper, then?"

That shut Dylan up for good. She lowered her eyes and pondered the matter.

"Landon and Layne, please follow me. We need to have a talk about your abilities. The rest of you follow Myra."

With that, David turned and disappeared through yet another door, with Landon and Layne trailing uncertainly after him. Myra shrugged and beckoned for the group to follow her out another door.

David noted the personalities of the two following him. Silent, mysterious and impassive – definitely from the Darkness. Cheerful, kindhearted and caring – definitely from the Light. So what exactly was going on with the boy?

They rounded another corner and stopped at a door, which David opened and entered. The two teenagers followed him in, and Layne shuddered slightly at the quiet click of the door closing as the only source of light from outside disappeared.

The lights suddenly came on again, and David smiled.

"Alright. Take a seat, you two. And for goodness sake, stop looking so scared, Layne. You haven't done anything wrong."

The girl gave a tentative smile and relaxed as her teacher smiled.

"Layne, I think I know why you couldn't tear the paper. Try mending this piece instead."

He handed her his own piece of paper, which was still wet and torn. Layne held it in the palm of her hand with her eyes squeezed shut, and the paper emitted a soft white glow and began to seamlessly fit itself back together.

Landon stared impassively at the display of abilities beside him but moved away slightly from the girl, staring at her with a calculating look in his eyes.

"Good."

David retrieved the paper as Layne stared at it openmouthed.

"You're a healer from the Light, Layne. An Elder Light."

She flushed with happiness and her eyes twinkled, but then her expression turned into one of curiosity as David stared at Landon.

"Tell me, Landon. Do you know anything about your abilities? Anything your parents might have told you?"

"No."

His answer was terse and cold, and David sat back in his seat with a sigh.

"From what we've found out about the Land of Darkness, there are three major clans that specialise in attack, defense, and wild abilities – demon, fog and shadow respectively. It is still undetermined which clan you belong to, so I'd like to test you as I did with Layne."

He held the piece of paper up and ripped it again.

"Try to mend it."

Landon held the piece of paper in his hand, and let it sit there for a few moments.

David made an annoyed sound.

"You actually have to _try_, Landon. Put some effort into it."

"I'm not a healer."

Landon's cold glare only pissed David off that much more.

"If you're not going to do what I say, I'm going to have to get Myra in here, and believe me, she's a lot less patient. Or would you rather be tested in front of everyone else?"

After a few minutes of absolutely no reaction from Landon, David slipped a cell phone out of his pocket and speed-dialed a number. The person on the other end picked up on the second ring.

"What is it?" snapped Myra, loud enough for both Landon and Layne to hear.

"I couldn't handle the Dark boy. I was hoping your ability could help."

"Damn straight. But let me warn you, Dave, I'm no spirit warrior. I can feel his energy flow, but I might not be able to decipher it."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Myra."

"You owe me. Big time. You know just how much I hate that stuff."

The phone went dead and the sound of footsteps sounded louder and louder outside in the hallway. David opened the door and patiently waited the arrival of Myra with a sadistic smirk on his face.

* * *

Lalalala...


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter is dedicated to froggycait1102, , LiveLoveShea, and BSlover1812. Thanks for the reviews :D

Here are the theme songs for the characters (I own nothing):

Alicia: This is My Life (DJ Splash)

Kemp: Bass is Kicking (DJ Splash)

Massie: The Wave (Cosmic Gate)

Chris: Day Goes By (DJ Splash)

Dylan: Forever Dancing (DJ Splash)

Derrick: Popcorn (Verano Radio Edit)

Kristen: Always and Forever (DJ Splash)

Cam: Crying Soul (DJ Splash)

Landon: Sandstorm (DJ Dello Electro Mix)

Layne: Memories (DJ Splash)

Josh: Don't Fall in Love (DJ Splash)

Claire: A Beautiful Day (DJ Splash)

* * *

"Do I fucking look like I'm kidding?"

It had only been a few minutes since Myra had arrived, but she was already seething from Landon's cold, expressionless demeanor and the silence pervading the room. David had left the room, all but dancing with glee, muttering something about Myra not knowing what she'd gotten herself into.

"If you don't talk, kid, I'm going to have to use some real physical attacks on you," she growled.

Landon stared back, uncaring.

Her phone rang. After a long glower at the unresponsive boy, she answered.

"Keep it down, Myra. We can hear you from all the way out here."

"Whatever. I'm actually going to try to force it out of him."

There was an ominous silence at the other end.

"Well…I guess you're justified," he muttered at last, "but don't go overboard with it."

"Good."

She jammed her finger down on the "end call" button and smiled menacingly at Landon.

"David's given me the okay to force it out of you, so here's your last chance to try again," she smirked.

Landon's gaze didn't waver.

"Go ahead."

"All right, then."

The strawberry blonde leaned over the table and placed a hand near Landon's. Her palm glowed a dark red colour and visible waves of light poured out of it, flowing right through into his skin.

Landon's appearance changed slightly to one of interest and he gave a brief smirk, before his expression changed to one of contemplation. He slumped back in his seat as Myra's energy-absorbing abilities took their toll on him.

"Feeling anything? I don't want to hurt you if I don't have to, so tell me if you can't bear the pain." Myra grinned cockily at the dark-haired boy in front of her.

Landon waved a hand, unperturbed.

"It's nothing."

Myra's forehead knitted in confusion. The pain he should have been feeling by now was more than just a slight burn. It had to be getting uncomfortable. She stopped the flow of energy from her hand and stared thoughtfully at the boy.

"It doesn't hurt?"

Landon shrugged.

"I guess it should have, but it wasn't that bad."

"So you could be a healer," she mused, "but it doesn't seem right."

Myra took the boy's hand in her own and pushed up the sleeve of his jacket, ruching it up to the elbow.

"What-"

The spot that she'd sent her energy through was a fading red colour, but the rest of the arm was marked with a large collection of crisscrossing scars of almost every imaginable size, colour, and shape.

"Who did this to you?" she demanded.

"They were accidents." Landon gave a humourless laugh at Myra's horrified expression. In the seat next to him, Layne was flinching and trying her best to look away while not offending him.

"Layne, you can leave now. Tell David what happened quietly and don't tell anyone else. Understand?"

The brunette nodded meekly and rushed out of the room, disappearing down the hall in a matter of seconds.

"What happened? Tell me everything."

Landon's eyes bored in to hers, his expression unchanging.

"Sweet of you to care, but it's nothing special. Draw any conclusions yet?"

Myra ran a hand angrily through her hair, gripping the boy's arm tightly.

"You talk about it like it's nothing, but I'm serious. You have to tell us, so we can help you heal."

"All right," Landon replied conversationally, "this one's from a bicycle accident three years ago, this one is from the neighbor's cat. These ones are from falling on a hike. That's all I remember."

Myra's phone rang again. Without taking her gaze off Landon, she snapped it open and held it against her face.

"David, yes. It's serious. Layne's right. How much did she tell you?"

There was a pause.

"So I used my ability on him and wanted to check to see what had happened to his arm. The spot I hit seemed to be fine, slightly red, but the rest of his arm is marked up like nothing I've ever seen before. It's like he's accumulated a lifetime of scars in a month."

Another pause.

"Yes, that too. His energy isn't the healing type either. He could be a wild, but what exactly can the Darkness do?"

"That's an interesting thought. But I have a feeling the wild is something more sinister, maybe directly opposite to the Light as well. I'm coming."

She grabbed Landon by the arm, pushing down the sleeve of his jacket roughly and dragging him out of the room, slamming the door shut.

On the way, Myra was in deep thought. Could David have been right, that the Darkness' abilities were opposite to the Lights'? If the Land of The Light was full of healers, what would be the Darkness' special abilities? The ability _not_ to heal?

They rounded the corner to see the assembled group, with David pacing up and down the length of the room.

"David, is he in a lot of trouble?" called Derrick jeeringly.

Myra let go of Landon's arm and strode over purposefully to Derrick with a brisk stride that made him cower.

"Shut up. You don't know anything, and you're only giving us Fires a bad reputation with your big mouth."

Derrick blinked twice in surprise and shut his mouth abruptly. The brunette girl who was his partner laughed lightly, her eyes twinkling with mirth at his obvious embarrassment.

The two teachers started speaking in low murmurs, darting occasional looks at Landon. There was a lot of nodding and hasty explanations going on, and David's face became more and more worried as Myra told him what had just happened.

On her chair, Layne shuffled over closer to where Landon was standing, and smiled apologetically at him.

"Landon, I'm sorry about just now, it's just that," she winced, "I don't like the sight of blood and injuries. I was thinking, maybe I could heal them?"

The dark-haired boy gave her an icy glare.

"Leave it."

"I'm so sorry. I just want to do what I can. Please? It would make me feel better."

Layne took his silence for consent, and tentatively reached for the largest scar on his arm she could find. She concentrated, letting her energy flow to her fingertips, and moved her glowing palms over the red cut.

Suddenly, she jerked back, clutching her left wrist, a pained cry escaping her lips. Myra and David both stopped talking, froze for a moment, then rushed over to her.

"Layne! What happened? Are you all right?"

Myra moved her arm, prying her fingers away so she could take a closer look.

"It's going to be okay. Let me take a look, and tell us what happened."

Layne's left wrist was laced with blood. A long cut stretched five centimeters up her arm, forking at the end. As David watched, a dark energy flowed out, widening the cut and preventing it from healing.

Between gasps, Layne forced out the words while wincing every so often.

"I…was trying to heal… Landon's cut…but…when I did…this…happened," she gestured helplessly at her arm.

David swore under his breath, yanking up the sleeve of Landon's jacket hastily. On the exact place where Layne had her scar, a five-centimetre long scar stretched along his arm, with Layne's fingertips still resting on it.

"David, what is it?"

Myra's apprehensive expression had nothing on David's.

"I'm not sure," he began, "but I think it's a curse."

* * *

Wow. Cliffy o.O What would you lovely reviewers say to a sequel of this story, or maybe a whole series?


	5. Chapter 5

Happy New Year since I last updated!

Also, I won't be updating so frequently anymore. School and stuff. And I had a total lack of good plotline for a few days and had to resort to daydreaming :P. So please tell me if this chapter sucks. Hopefully the next one will be a lot better.

Thanks so much to BSlover1812 for your reviews. I really appreciate them. This chapter is for you :D

* * *

"Listen up, people!" screamed Myra, "You're going to go to your dorms. Classes are cancelled for today!"

"'Kay. Where exactly are our dorms?" asked the perky blonde.

"Follow the path up to the top. The building on the left is the boy's dorm and the building on the right is the girl's. I'm going to entrust the keys to Cameron and Kristen."

David twirled the keychains around his finger and tossed them to the two serious-looking teens.

"Hey, why do get the keys? It's not fair." The redheaded girl scowled and crossed her arms, her gaze fixed on Myra. There were a few nods and mumbled agreements, the loudest of which came from Derrick.

"Because I say so, and I'm the boss around here," smirked Myra.

David sighed exasperatedly.

"Because they're the ones who are least likely to wreck everything. No using your abilities, okay? They're too volatile. Cam and Kris? Can I trust you two to keep everything in order?"

"It'll be fine," the girl assured him.

"Definitely," answered the boy.

"Give us a call if anything happens. The phones are programmed. Press 1 for David, 2 for me. Go on, scram."

She waved a hand, and the assembled group quickly dispersed out of the main door in groups of two or three. David gave Landon and Layne one last worried glance before he disappeared with Myra to try to find out more.

Alicia walked to her dorm with Kristen and Massie mostly in silence, making occasional comments about the weather, until the soft gradient of the hill flattened out to reveal two buildings side by side. The group of girls headed to the right, following the narrow, flower-lined path to the entrance. Kristen stood by the entrance, waiting for the others to catch up. Dylan's fiery hair came into view, followed by Layne and Claire, who were chatting animatedly. When all the girls were assembled at the door, Kristen unlocked the front entrance and let everyone in. A note directed them to the bedrooms on the second floor.

Claire ran into one of the rooms, then came out shrieking.

"It's great! The view is awesome too! Everyone, I bags a room with Layne!"

She looped her arm through the brunette's, dragging her inside excitedly. The other girls followed, checking out the other four rooms on the level.

"I'll have this one," called Massie, coming out of a bedroom with blue and wood-coloured accents.

"I'll room with you, if you don't mind," offered Alicia.

"Sounds good."

Dylan looked around, finding a bedroom with red accents and light coloured furniture.

"Mine," she declared.

"Has everyone found a room?" enquired Kristen.

There were nods from all around.

"I'll take the last one, then," she murmured, and claimed her room.

An hour or so later, everyone had finished unpacking and gathered in the living room downstairs, lounging on sofas and getting to know each other.

"Anyone want to play truth or dare?" Dylan asked with a dangerous grin.

"Me!" squealed Claire. Layne nodded.

"I'm in," conceded Massie, after a moment of hesitation.

"Me too," agreed Alicia.

"What about you, Kris?" questioned Dylan, a slightly derisive edge in her voice.

"No, thanks," replied the girl evenly.

Dylan smirked.

"O-kay. I'll start. Massie. Truth or dare?"

Massie's amber eyes glinted.

"Dare."

The redhead gave a toothy grin worthy of the Cheshire cat.

"I dare you to go over to the boy's dorm, get one of them to open the door, and spray him in the face with water. It's your element, right?"

Massie started protesting at the same time that Kristen stood up.

"It's not allowed, Dylan. You know that."

"Oh, come on, party pooper. Have a little fun. What David can't see won't hurt him."

"No." Kristen's voice was firm.

Dylan sat down with a sigh and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, now she thinks she's all that. Whatever. I still say you throw water in their faces. Get a bucket or something."

Massie grinned.

"Be right back," she called, disappearing into the bathroom and reappearing with a cup full of water and smiling confidently as she disappeared out the door.

* * *

"So," muttered Derrick, "what to do, what to do?"

He was stretched out lazily on the sofa, taking up most of the space. All the other boys were squished into the two remaining sofas around the glass table.

"Well, for a start, you could get your ass off the sofa and let us have a seat," pointed out Josh.

"He does have a point," agreed Chris.

Derrick glared, but heaved himself off and moved to one end to make space.

"Oh, hell. I'm so bored. I say we prank the girls," he began, with a malicious grin.

Cam sent him a warning look, but kept quiet.

Josh grinned.

"I'm so in. What do you have in mind?"

Derrick leaned in conspiratorially.

"Remember that blonde we saw that morning? The tall one? What was her name, Christina or something like that. Yeah, her."

Josh smirked.

"I think I see where this is going."

"First one to freak her out wins."

Derrick looked around at the various expressions of surprise, disgust, and excitement around him and grinned.

"Josh, I'm going now. Get ready to lose," laughed the boy.

"Oh, yeah? We'll see about that," Josh shot back.

Derrick gave him a taunting grin and disappeared into his room, coming out seconds later with his pockets bulging.

"See ya, suckers," he sneered as he headed towards the door.

Smiling to himself, Derrick fingered the bottle of deodorant in his pocket. The smell would instantly irritate the hell out of all her roommates in the building, and would take forever to disperse. Plus, it had the advantage of being invisible, preventing the smartass girl from accusing anyone of anything.

He wrenched open the door, only to stand face to face with a girl who had just raised a hand to ring the doorbell. The brunette smiled wickedly, then moved her hand out from behind her back in one swift motion. Water splashed onto his face and the girl giggled to herself, fleeing the boys' territory while casting one last smug look at the soaked Fire elemental.

* * *

I just love making fun of Derrick :D No Massington here!


	6. Chapter 6

:D THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS. THEY TOTALLY MADE MY REST OF THE WEEK.

:D

:D

:D

Haha.

PS. depending on how popular this story gets, I might do a sequel and I might have to ask for a few OCs from you guys. I have a few ideas in mind, so please tell me what you think.

* * *

"So everything went well yesterday, right?" asked David.

"Totally," grinned Massie.

Chris coughed into his hand.

"Yeah, it was fun. We had a girly sleepover party and did each other's nails. See?"

Alicia wiggled her fingers at him, her pale blue nails flashing in the sunlight. Claire giggled and imitated Alicia's movement, her own silvery nails sparkling as she waved at Derrick.

"It was strictly girls-only. No boys allowed," laughed Layne, joining in the fun.

Cam looked very amused, while a glowering Derrick fought to keep calm.

"Okay," Myra didn't look very convinced, "today we'll start your elemental training, with the theories and basics you need to know. Then, if all goes well, we'll try to have you summon your isorropia."

"Our what?" questioned Layne and Claire simultaneously.

"Your isorropia. That's Greek for equilibrium."

Dylan shifted uncomfortably.

I'm still having trouble believing in this whole supernatural thing," started Dylan.

David grinned.

"Oh, don't worry. Once we're through, you'll have no doubt in your own powers. Okay. Does anyone remember what I told you about the Elemental Lands?"

There was a silence as everyone looked around guiltily. Then Kristen raised her hand unsurely.

"Smartass," muttered Derrick.

"Yes, Kristen?"

"There are seven elemental Lands: Water, Fire, Light, Dark, Earth, Wind, and Spirit. The lands of Water and Fire were constantly at war, but there was nothing too serious that the Spirit Land couldn't handle. The Earth and Wind Lands disagreed, but they didn't fight. However, the Lands of Light and Dark, the two most powerful lands, had a devastating war that wiped out most of both sides, and left the survivors with a bitter hatred of each other."

David nodded.

"That's right. Does anyone have anything else to add?"

Cam raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"The Spirit Land ruled over the other Lands, their specialty being wisdom, while the Land of Water had the ability to neutralize the effects of poison, the Land of Fire had strength, the Land of Light had the ability to heal, and the Land of Dark's abilities were never fully explained."

Myra leaned against the closest wall and gave a frustrated sigh.

"The Spirits again…"

David crossed his arms and glared at her.

"Do you have any other ideas?"

Myra stood up and fluffed her hair.

"I think I might. They're lacking in motivation right now. If I can get them hyped up, it might help them learn. Follow me, kids."

She led everyone outside to a wide, open space beyond the building.

David groaned.

"Have it your way. Just get ready, in case anything goes crazy. You know how unstable isorropia can get if not controlled properly."

"Um, hello? Not understanding a word you're saying over here," piped up Claire.

"Shut up and listen. We're going to do something fun," said Myra, "watch me."

She held up a hand as it began to glow red, pulsing with an angry light. The energy moved out towards David in little tendrils, connecting the both of them, and David took a step back, his own hand raised. He sliced sharply through the air, sending a pale blue light hurtling through the red tendrils, cutting them off.

The red glow in front of Myra darkened and grew in size, tendrils streaming out towards David rapidly. He raised his palms in front of himself, and a blue glow radiated from his hands, diffusing slowly until the air in front of Myra was a hazy purplish colour.

"That's enough," growled Myra.

"All right, then," David gave a smirk and the blue glow vanished.

"So, did anyone have any idea of what that was?" asked Myra conversationally.

"Crazy lighting effects?" asked Kemp sarcastically.

"We're outdoors," David pointed out.

"Wierdass shadow movements?" suggested Derrick.

"God, you are so dumb," muttered Chris quietly.

"Some trick of the light?" murmured Claire.

"All wrong. That's isorropia. Spirit energy."

Myra took a step back to survey the emotions flitting across the faces of her students. Confusion. Disbelief. Excitement. Caution. Indecision. Scorn.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," snorted Derrick. Dylan laughed nervously.

"You're an idiot," stated Myra.

"Prove to us that that was actually spirit energy and not some weird trick!" Derrick shot back.

Myra gave a sinister smile and took a few steps forward.

"Really? You want me to try?"

"Go ahead."

The Fire Elemental's hands glowed red again. She raised it to shoulder height, straight across from Derrick, and pushed her hand out sharply. Derrick lost the cocky smile as he stumbled backwards and tripped on a rock, landing on his knees with a stunned expression on his face.

"Got anything to say now, Derrick?" asked Myra smugly.

"Wait," demanded Josh, "what did you do to him?"

"It's okay. She just gave him a little push," David assured him.

Alicia was deep in thought. Her brown eyes were sparkling with interest, and her face suddenly lit up.

"Myra, David. Are you saying that we can do that too?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay," David assumed his role as teacher again, "I want you to pair up according to your elements. That's Derrick and Dylan, Massie and Chris, Claire and Josh, Kristen and Cam, Kemp and Alicia, and Layne and Landon can work alone. We're going to try to summon your isorropia."

There were murmurs of approval and excitement from all around, and the pairs were quickly organized. Layne was practically bouncing up and down with excitement, and without her realizing, the air around her began to shimmer a bright white.

"Very good, Layne. You can summon it very well, but you'll have to control it better," called Myra.

The little brunette beamed and shut her eyes. The glow around her wavered, then slowly faded, before returning to full brightness within a second.

David sighed.

"I guess we'll have to work on that. Now the rest of you try. Find that inner peace, or equilibrium of your emotions. Focus."

Derrick picked himself up off the floor and groaned. Beside him, Dylan was frantically trying her best to make her hand glow. Everyone was definitely trying hard to make it work, but not everyone had a result.

"Is this right?"

David followed the sound of the voice to Kristen, whose palm was glowing with a silvery sheen of light. Nearby, Cam's fingertips glowed with a silvery light, slowly spreading to cover his own hand.

"That's great, both of you. Now focus more to make it stronger."

"Myra? Am I getting this right?"

Claire's palm glowed a faint purple. The light flickered, then disappeared altogether.

"Shoot, lost it," she muttered.

"Got it," murmured Josh.

There was a faint burst of energy from his palm, which quickly faded into nothing before reappearing again.

"Dammit."

"It's weak and wavery, but it's there, Massie. Keep it up. You too, Chris."

"Kemp and Alicia. Well done, it's very strong, but keep your focus or else you'll lose it again. Yes, Alicia, just like that."

The two teachers continued to make brief comments and encourage their students, or demonstrate to them. Almost all the elementals had succeeded at least in the slightest, but when David reached Landon, his hand wasn't even glowing faintly.

"Not you again," he groaned.

* * *

*groans* NOT YOU AGAIN, LANDON!


	7. Chapter 7

So...thanks to those who reviewed...

What else should I say? Oh, right. REVIEW! :P

* * *

"I'm seriously starting to doubt that he's even an elemental at all," laughed Derrick.

David's brow furrowed as he considered the possibility of Derrick's words.

"Wait, David," Myra hurried over, "look closer."

She pushed up the sleeve of Landon's jacket again, peering closely at his wrist. She suddenly recoiled, and let the sleeve drop.

"What's up with the jacket, dude? It's not _that_ cold," commented Josh.

"Yeah," Derrick added.

"It's none of your business," snapped David, shooting the boys a warning glare.

"No, it's okay," Landon gave a wry smile, pushing his shirtsleeves up, "after all this is not for my benefit, it's for theirs."

Layne instinctively looked away. All the girls either winced or flinched. Josh went pale, and Derrick averted his eyes quickly.

"Dude, what happened to you?" asked Chris, aghast.

"That's what we've been trying to figure out," said Myra grimly.

She grabbed David by the hand and steered him closer to Landon.

"Do you see that?"

There was a brief silence as David studied his arm, looking carefully up and down, and then glancing over to Layne. His expression darkened, and he shook his head.

"Is his isorropia blocked or something? Can't get out?"

Myra studied Landon thoughtfully.

"Well, from what I can see, the air around him darkens a little bit when he tries, but somehow it just doesn't work. But it worked with Layne…"

"He didn't do that on purpose, we can deduce that much," argued David.

"But it was his isorropia," countered Myra.

"Layne, come over here," called David, waving her over.

"Kristen and Cam, you two as well," ordered Myra, after some thought.

The three made their way over to the teachers. Layne looked apprehensive, and Cam and Kristen looked curious.

"What…?" David trailed off, gesturing at the two Spirit elementals.

"One of them might be a seer," Myra hissed back, "isn't it about time to figure out what faction each of them belongs to?"

"Um, we're still here and we can hear you, you know?" said Massie.

"Uh, yeah. Just continue practicing controlling your isorropia," replied David distractedly.

"Cam, Kristen. Do you see anything connected to isorropia that's around Landon? Anything special?" asked Myra.

Kristen twitched slightly.

"I can see a dark energy behind his cuts. It's almost overflowing, but something is holding it back."

Myra and David sucked in a sharp breath simultaneously.

"Wild faction, Oracle, seer and premonitions," muttered David.

"Goddamn know-it-all," murmured Myra.

"Will someone please tell us what is going on?" asked Layne heatedly. The air around her began to shimmer, enveloping everything within a one-metre distance in a bright white light.

The atmosphere darkened suddenly. Layne's bright aura disappeared, replaced by a hazy darkness. Kristen swore softly and stepped back, bumping in to Cam and nearly knocking them both over.

"They're open," she whispered, "his cuts are open."

Myra took a hesitant step forward, stretching a hand into the blackness. The air around her brightened into a reddish colour, and she winced and pushed her hand in further. The darkness faded, leaving a gasping Myra and Landon standing face to face.

"That's…great," David pasted a fake smile onto his face to cover the worry, "now Landon, you can train with us in controlling your isorropia. Now, let's start with the basic attack and defence. We'll-"

Dylan nearly screamed in frustration.

"Someone tell us what's going on!"

Myra sent David a smug little smirk.

"Works everytime," she grinned.

When everyone was back in the main hall, David wheeled a large blackboard out and waited for them to settle down.

"So, as I've said before, there are seven Elemental Lands, which are…?"

"Earth, Water, Fire, Spirit, Wind and Light and Dark," cried Claire, "get on with it!"

David turned to the board, writing down the names of the Lands in bold as headings.

"Each Land is skilled in…?"

"Fire – massive strength, Water – healing poisons, Spirit – wisdom, Light – healing," said Chris.

David wrote each Land's strengths under the main headings, adding in the abilities for the Lands of Wind, Earth, and Darkness as he said them.

"Wind – sudden amounts of devastating damage, Earth – a solid defense, Darkness – unknown. And the Spirit Land also had clear vision and premonitions to detect isorropia."

"Just…get…on…with…it…" groaned Derrick.

Myra laughed.

"Okay. Be patient. And David, hurry up!"

"Each Land had three main factions – attack, defense, and wild. The attacking factions could do the most damage, the defense faction could defend or heal, and the wild faction had two different critical attacks for each Land. For Fire, the attacking faction was called the Flame, the defense was Ash, and the wild faction was Smoke. Their special abilities were the heatwave and isorropia absorption, which Myra just demonstrated outside."

He wrote the names down beneath the first heading of Fire, then carried on writing while explaining for the rest of the Lands.

"The Water had the Wave attack faction, Lake heal faction, and Rain wild faction. I'm from the Rain, and we have the ability to either drown or rain on our enemies. Now, the Earth had the Rock attack faction, Soil defend faction and the Sand wild faction – suffocation or a sandstorm. The Wind had the Gale attack faction, the Mist heal faction and the Cloud wild faction, and could have the ability to fly or widen and deepen wounds on the enemy. The Spirit had the Chance attack faction, the Guide defend faction, and the Oracle wild faction, which allows the use clear vision, premonitions, and an instinct to help with fights. The Light had the Solar attack faction, the Celestial heal faction, and the Lunar wild faction, which could shift gravities and the isorropia crossbow. Little is known about the Darkness, but it's believed that there is the Demon attack faction, the Fog defend faction and Shadow wild faction. An elemental from the attack faction excels at attacking, and may one day learn a skill from the wild faction. The same goes for the defense faction. However, those from the wild faction already had one specialised elemental skill and may one day master both."

"Wait. What do you mean by "had the skills"?" asked Layne suspiciously.

"I mean, that our abilities were much stronger in days gone by, and we're now struggling not to lose them," answered David.

* * *

Review?


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks to VegVogueValor, BSlover1812, Wishing for Right Now and KatFyre for reviewing.

BSlover1812: I'll try to put in a little more Landon (I seriously won't mind), but this is Alicia's story, so I can't do much.

KatFyre: Action: slowly building, starting in the next two chapters or so. Romance: slowly starting up in a few chapters. Plot: developing, a certain character will undergo major changes :D

* * *

"Okay, enough theory for today. Let's go outside and practice your skills, and hopefully, we'll be able to determine the faction you belong to."

Myra led everyone outside again, pairing the elementals up according to their element. This time, Landon and Layne were paired up too.

"So, everyone knows how to summon their isorropia now, correct?"

They answered in the affirmative.

"Now, I'll teach you the basic techniques of attack and defense. David?"

David took his place across from Myra.

"This is how to attack."

The strawberry blonde's hand glowed red, and she sliced sharply through the air, sending a spinning disc of red energy spinning towards David.

"This is how to block it."

David raised both hands, as if to ward off Myra's isorropia, and a bluish haze formed in front of him. The red energy dissipated on contact with David's isorropia, and the water elemental sent a spinning disc of blue energy back at Myra. This continued for a few moments, back and forth, until the students were confident enough to start trying by themselves.

"David?"

"Yes, Alicia?"

"You said that there were defense factions in each of the Lands. Are the descendants of those Lands able to attack and defend?"

"That's a good question. With the techniques I showed you just now, yes, it's possible. What Myra and I were just doing was releasing our isorropia, and any elemental of any faction can do that."

Satisfied, Alicia returned to her training, which involved shaping her isorropia into a spinning disc and hurling it a rock. Soon, the air was filled with the colours of the different types of isorropia flying through it, as well as sounds of dull thuds against rock as the elementals tried to shape their spirit energy.

"How's everyone doing?"

There were defeated expressions from all around. Most of them were already exhausted, and Massie, Claire and Dylan had already collapsed onto the ground.

"Let's try putting it this way…Dylan. You like to dance, right? What's your style?"

"I'm…a…b-girl," gasped the redhead.

"Okay. Imagine you're dancing, and put your isorropia into that," advised Myra.

"I..can't…" Derrick stumbled and promptly joined his fellow Fire elemental in a dazed heap on the floor.

"Derrick. Imagine your isorropia as a rugby ball that you're passing," called David.

Derrick managed a weak grimace and a thumbs-up.

Suddenly, a loud crack split the air. Kristen and Cam both looked up happily.

"I think we split the rock," Cam called out to no one in particular.

They all gathered around to see the broken rock crumbling, as Kristen beamed happily and looked around for something else to practice on.

"How are they doing that?" huffed Chris.

"Kristen, do you think you can show us?"

The blonde nodded eagerly, having located another rock. She took a deep breath, laced her fingers together and pushed out as her fingers began to glimmer with a silvery sheen. Kristen watched as the rock shuddered, then snapped her wrists together abruptly.

"The key to this is finding something that will connect with who you are, something that you understand. For Kristen, it was easy to channel her isorropia because she understood it. Don't give up, Dylan. Try again, using what you know," instructed Myra.

The redhead picked herself up off the floor, took a deep breath, and held her hands together. She took a step forward, her eyes blazing, and sliced at the air directly in front of her with an exaggerated swipe. The rock in front of her shook, and a tiny crack appeared, followed by a shower of crumbling pieces. Seeing her example, everyone began to attack their respective targets with renewed force.

The two teachers strolled around the assembled group, giving hints and tips as well as observing the efforts of their pupils.

Myra slipped a notebook out of her pocket and nodded at David to do the same as they continued to note the young elementals. A few minutes later, she wandered over to him with her completed list.

"Not…done…yet…"hissed David, still looking around hastily and marking down what he saw.

"For god's sake, hurry up. It's not that hard!"

"Okay, I think it's fine!"

He held up his own notebook and compared notes with her.

"Layne – Elder Light, Celestial heal faction. Check," Myra ticked off the entry as she found David's was the same as hers.

"Kristen – Spirit elemental, Wild faction, Oracle, seer and premonitions, check. Cameron – Spirit elemental, Guide defend faction, check. Alicia – Earth elemental, Soil defend faction, check. Kemp –Earth elemental, Rock attack faction, check. Massie – Water elemental, Wave attack faction, check. Chris – Water elemental, Rain wild faction?"

David glanced at Myra amusedly.

"You could never tell the difference between the Rain and Lake factions. He's a healer."

Muttering under her breath, the strawberry blonde scribbled out her notes and replaced them with David's.

"Okay, moving on. Derrick – Fire elemental Flame attack faction, check. Dylan – Fire elemental, Ash defense faction – no, David. Not all Fire elementals have to be from the Flame faction, I've told you before!" she exclaimed exasperatedly.

David merely shrugged.

"They're all the same to me."

"Whatever. Claire – Wind elemental, Gale attack faction, check. Josh – Wind elemental Wild flight faction. Landon – Dark elemental, unknown, but I'm guessing Wild. Nothing else could be so ridiculously twisted and powerful."

"No," disagreed David, "I think Josh's base wild ability is the wind blade. He doesn't seem like the flight type. Also, Landon could just as well be from the Demon attack faction. Remember, we have no idea what the Dark can do, and every attack from every elemental manifests in a different way. It could only be particular to him and the amount of isorropia he has."

Myra fiddled worriedly with her hair.

"We'll just have to watch and see, then."

* * *

You know what I love? And practically can't live without?

REVIEWS. :)


	9. Chapter 9

:D

Um. I'm kinda running low on backup chapters, so no one freak out if I don't update next week, kay?

* * *

"I think I got it," offered Alicia shyly. Kemp gave her an encouraging smile, watching intently as David and Myra came over to check on the split rock.

"Great job, Leesh," smiled Massie, waving at her own rock, which was still intact.

Kemp looked at her enviously as Myra proclaimed that she had succeeded. When Alicia looked back at her partner, he gave her the thumbs up and motioned for her to help him with his task. Alicia joined him, giving occasional hints and tips, but after a few fruitless moments, he gave up.

"Maybe we should try defense," suggested Dylan, "it might be easier."

She twisted up her long red hair into a bun and tied it up. Alicia could see that her face matched her hair. Dylan huffed with the exertion as she stared angrily at her crumbling but not-quite-broken rock.

"Okay. Now, I want one of your to attack your partner, and the other one to envision a shield in front of them. It should be a lot easier for you to get motivated if you get hit," Myra grinned sadistically.

"Myra," warned David, "don't scare them. You won't be hurt very much by your own element, so don't worry about it."

Claire grinned.

"Me first. You attack."

Josh shot her a smirk, and quickly drew on his isorropia, so that the roiling purple energy in his hand sharpened to a point.

"Here goes."

Claire watched the purple spearhead approaching and panicked, acting reflexively. A purple disc of energy shot through Josh's attack, and both elementals were hit at the same time.

"Ouch," muttered Claire, rubbing her sore arm. Across from her, Josh examined a light red bruise that was starting to form on his leg.

"Hey! I wasn't ready yet!" yelled Dylan, creating a red ball of energy just as it dissipated on impact with Derrick's isorropia. Most of the energy was counteracted, but the remaining hit her exposed neck with a faint sizzling noise.

"Go!" yelled Massie, hurling a glowing blue sphere at Chris, who created a wavery wall of faint navy just in time. All of the water isorropia disappeared, leaving Chris staring in surprise at his partner.

"You're good," he observed.

Kemp sent a spinning gust of isorropia at Alicia, who blocked it with ease. The shield still remained for a minute after the attack, then slowly faded away into nothing. Kemp gritted his teeth. How could Alicia be so good at everything? Claire watched this all with wide eyes.

A silvery glow emanated from Kristen's palm, heading straight for Cameron. The spirit Elemental raised a hand and pushed out, releasing a glowing streak of isorropia that arced through the air and met with the attack, and both disappeared with a loud crack.

"Layne…" realised Myra suddenly.

Layne's whole silhouette was glowing with a bright white sheen, but her attacks didn't seem to be working. Every time a white flash hit Landon, it disappeared, without the Elemental blocking it in any way.

"Either that girl can't attack, or the boy is defending too well," called David.

"She needs an incentive," muttered Myra, "god, Elder Lights are so annoying."

David came over to watch, catching Myra's last words. He frowned.

"No talking about…_that_," he warned the Fire Elemental.

"Chill, Dave. It's not like she'll find out about why her father-"

"SHUT UP," interrupted David.

"What? I didn't say anything about, you know, the other one. The enemy."

Layne looked up from her pointless battle.

"You talking about me?"

David facepalmed inwardly.

"No, not you. Keep on going, you're doing great!"

The petite girl flipped her light brown hair and panted.

"Landon, you attack. I'm too tired to do anything."

"Give me a reason to fight," he said to no one in particular.

"Here's a reason," volunteered David, sending a wave of blue isorropia at him. Myra watched in amusement as the isorropia was absorbed into one of the cuts, which disappeared instantaneously, leaving a bluish vein-like scar that faded.

Landon's gaze darkened, and he flicked his hand without warning. A dark scar appeared on the back of David's outstretched hand. Quickly, the murky colour began to leach away into the air, disappearing until a thin red scratch was all that was left.

"I guess I sort of asked for that," he muttered to himself. Myra snickered.

Layne's brow furrowed.

"Who were you talking about just now? Something about why the father did something? An enemy?"

"Just get back to work. It's not like it's about you," hissed Myra. David and her exchanged a loaded glance.

"Hey, Layne, you okay?" chirped Claire cheerfully.

"Yeah, just great," she muttered, narrowing her eyes at Myra, who stared back innocently.

"No, really. What's up?"

Layne looked around cautiously before leaning in to whisper into Claire's ear.

"I think David and Myra aren't telling us everything we need to know. There was something about an enemy of someone's father and that they did something. And get this, she said this right after she was talking about me."

Claire tossed her head.

"You're being silly, Lay-lay."

Layne muttered something under her breath, shivering slightly as a pang of awareness shot through her eyes.

"What was that?" questioned Claire.

"I said, my father is dead. This is creeping me out."

The blonde laughed, all silvery tinkles and lightheartedness.

"Don't be all doom and gloom, Lay-lay. I'm sure it's just a coincidence. Stop worrying about it, cos' they probably won't tell you about whatever it is anyway."

Layne gave a relieved smile at Claire's infectious positivity.

"Thanks, Claire. But one way or another, I will find out what's going on."

* * *

So...whaddya think?


	10. Chapter 10

Sorrysorrysorry for not updating! I'm working on other things right now, so please check them out :D

There's My Own Step, which I'm working on with Burning Rainbows right now, The Head Girl, and maybe some other random things (All of these are in The Start of Something New). Oh, and I've finally gotten around to doing the random pairings for HHNFLAMS, if you still remember it... It's called If Only.

Okay, enough with my rambling.

* * *

"Rise and shine, girls!" trilled Myra, throwing open the curtains and filling the room with bright sunshine.

"Leave me alone," muttered Massie, from under the covers.

"Mhm," agreed Alicia.

"Don't make me roast your asses. Get up. NOW."

Both girls were up and out of bed within seconds of her threat. Having completed her task, Myra gave them a little wave and a sweet smile.

"We'll be meeting in the practicing area at nine o'clock sharp. Breakfast is in the main hall. Don't be late, or else…"

Massie shivered as she pulled on a pair of skinnies and a purple blouse.

"Myra scares the crap out of me sometimes," she admitted.

Alicia nodded.

"I'd rather have David as a house counselor. The boys are so lucky."

"What was that?" came a voice from just outside the door. Both girls freaked out loudly.

"It's just me," laughed Dylan, coming through the door.

"Don't do that, Dyl!" Alicia collapsed onto her unmade bed, clutching her chest dramatically.

"Aw, come on, you lazy lumps. We gotta get breakfast. We have twenty minutes before someone's ass gets a good roasting. And I want to be there to see it."

Nineteen minutes later, everyone was out on the grassy field again, waiting warily for instructions from their beaming teachers.

"Uh, David. You're kinda freaking me out with that smile. What's going on?" asked Chris.

"We're really impressed with your progress, so we've decided to have two on two fights today. We'll all be watching each fight, so you'll all get a good chance to embarrass yourselves in front of your friends! Oh and by the way, you don't pick your teams. We do."

"That's just mean," muttered Massie, glaring at Myra, no doubt still grumpy from being woken up so early in the morning.

"So, without further ado…the teams."

David reached into his pocket and brought out four crumpled squares of paper.

"Layne and Cameron … versus… Kristen and Landon!"

Derrick and Josh stepped back to a more convenient viewing spot with identical grins on their faces.

"Five bucks on the Light chick," whispered Josh.

"Ten on Christina," countered Derrick.

"Shut up! Stop being so rude. And it's Kristen, not Christina," muttered Alicia.

The others lounged on the grass in a rough circular shape, creating a ring around the four fighters. Layne grinned at Cam, who was carefully noting the distance between them. A moment later, he walked over to Layne and whispered something in her ear.

Kristen watched Landon warily. He was slouching lazily near the edge of the circle, not even perturbed in the least.

"Okay. There are no rules to this. We will step in as we see fit to stop the battle if things get out of hand. So get creative and use your brains. Help each other. The battle will be over when one person cannot fight anymore."

David smiled and told Myra something in a low voice.

"Three, two, one. Begin!"

Layne rushed forward in a glowing flash of light, heading straight for Kristen. Cam studied the distance between them, his gaze zeroing in on Landon. Kristen took a defensive stance, waiting as Layne blocked her first attack and continued running. At that precise moment, Cam sliced through the air at Kristen. Then Landon did something that took them all by surprise. He stepped into the silver isorropia's path and let the attack hit himself. A cut on his arm vaporized as Cam groaned in frustration.

Kristen grinned and lashed out again, and silver and white shadows flashed in between the girls as they took their turns attacking and defending.

The Spirit elemental backed off carefully, watching Landon with cautious eyes. He didn't seem to want to fight. Cam slowly relaxed, still feeling unsure about Landon's motives. He started to turn away from him to attack Kristen but received a large gash on his leg. Cam stumbled and caught himself, quickly releasing his isorropia in a blinding flash.

"Cam!"

Layne lost all concentration when she heard him gasp. She ran back towards him, her hand already glowing, as Kristen's attack hit her on the back. She crumpled at the same time Landon fell.

Myra whistled loudly, signaling the end of the battle.

"Okay! That's enough! Neither team wins."

Claire ran forward to help Layne up, but she already seemed a lot better. Landon had a sort of victorious smirk on his face which made Alicia wonder what he had really been after. Behind her, the two boys grumbled over both losing the bet.

"Next battle: Claire and Chris versus Dylan and Kemp!"

"Fifty bucks on Dylan!"

"My money's on Claire," Josh hissed back.

Dylan sent both boys a glower before she stepped into the ring with Kemp. Little Claire grabbed Chris and entered directly opposite. The two teams eyed each other, then Chris whispered something into Claire's ear. The little blonde nodded, then faced her opponent with an eager grin.

"Three, two, one, begin."

Dylan rushed forward, her hands already glowing red. Chris took a step forward, hands raised, waiting for something to happen while Kemp stood in the background, his own isorropia flowing around Dylan at Claire. The redhead punched the air ahead of her, downing Claire in a brief second.

There was a stunned silence that was broken by the sound of Derrick whooping.

"Hand it over, loser! I want my fifty bucks!"

"Shut up, dude. You know, you can be a _little_ insensitive sometimes," Josh hissed back.

A shrill whistle sounded, and Claire picked herself up off the floor, looking a little dazed. Her cheeks glowed bright red.

"Wow, that was a little…quick," muttered Massie worriedly, "poor Claire."

Alicia gave her a devious smile.

"Must be terrible to get humiliated on the field like that, huh? Everyone's watching you fall. I bet it's not as easy as it looks to attack.

Massie nodded sympathetically.

"I wonder… if the same will happen again? Remember, you're up next," she tacked on nonchalantly.

"Oh, shit."

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Leesh=evil ;D


	11. Chapter 11

:( at the lack of reviews, thanks to those who did. For those that have read HHNFLAMS, check out "If Only".

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"And the last battle. Massie and Alicia versus Josh and Derrick."

The boy smirked smugly at each other. Alicia wondered why they didn't bet on the very high possibility of them losing, the complacent idiots.

Massie walked over and murmured quickly, into her ear.

"What's the plan, Leesh?"

Alicia had already thought this one out. She smirked right back at the boys.

"You probably didn't get this, but I heard Myra and David yesterday. All three of you," she indicated Josh, Derrick, and Massie, "are from Wild or Attack factions. I'm the only one with a specialty defense."

A smile started to form on Massie's face.

"I like where this is going," she started.

"Okay. Here's the plan. We both rush out and pretend to attack. I'm counting on the boys to be the hotheaded idiots that I know they are, and they'll attack us one on one. Dodge the first attack, so they don't suspect anything, the I'll keep Derrick busy and block Josh's attacks on you so you can take him out. "

Massie grinned and nodded.

"Got it."

Myra clapped her hands loudly.

"The battle will start in three…two…one. Go!"

As expected, Derrick sprinted forward blindly, blazing isorropia in his hand and a cocky smile on his stupid face. Josh followed behind him. When they were close enough, the fire elemental rushed the last few metres and hurled his attack at Massie. Josh arced out from his straight run behind Derrick to slice at the air in front of Alicia. Both girls ducked simultaneously, and Alicia gave Massie the thumbs up, signaling for her plan to start.

"Derrick, what the hell was that? Were you just _warming up_?"

Alicia laughed at Derrick's outraged expression as he charged headfirst at her, throwing as many rounds at her as he could. The air filled with a cloud of red, and when it cleared again, Alicia was standing behind a boulder with her arms crossed, wearing a bored expression.

"You suck," she informed him.

Josh's frantic glance at his partner showed that he was very much on his own, and that any preconceived plans were now useless. Through his teeth, he growled at Massie.

"You planned this all, didn't you?"

Massie gave a cheerful smile, her expression radiating smugness when Alicia's isorropia blocked the next attack from him.

Josh reeled back, shocked.

"You can block my attacks as well?"

"Yup."

Derrick continued to charge tirelessly at Alicia with the stubbornness of an enraged bull being taunted. Alicia waved her figurative red cloth as she threw increasingly creative taunts at Derrick at growing speeds.

"You're getting totally _roasted_!" she grinned.

Derrick shot her a baleful glare and started to aim punches instead.

"If you keep up like that, you'll be _toast_," she yelled, dancing neatly out of the way.

Massie broke away from her fight momentarily to laugh and join in with the fun.

"Awesome work, Derrick. You're on _fire_."

But Josh's next attack quickly claimed her attention again, when it shattered against Alicia's isorropia.

"Josh! Dude! A little help over here!" yelled Derrick, still punching away at nothing.

Josh shot a glance over at his partner, shaking his head and sighing.

"Stop being an idiot and start using your isorropia!" He yelled back, dancing out of the way of one of Massie's attacks.

"I can't! they're not working!"

"And why the hell not?" screamed Josh in frustration. Massie and Alicia grinned at each other and continued with their respective goals. The boys only seemed to not get hit because of pure luck, but Josh focused again and sent Massie pirouetting in an awkward attempt to dodge it when Alicia's isorropia slipped as she lost concentration.

"Hey! Josh! Before I forget! You still owe me those fifty bucks!"

Josh glared at his stupid partner.

"Yeah, and now's a great time to mention it, huh?" he shot back sarcastically.

"Dude, we can take these girls anyti-"

Right then, one of Massie's attacks connected, and Josh staggered backwards, tripping on a raised patch of ground and finally falling.

"-or not," muttered Derrick.

"You retard!" screamed Josh, as Myra blew the whistle and Massie and Alicia high-fived. Most of the elementals seemed to be laughing with them, which only served to make Josh angrier. Their bicker soon turned into physical attacks, and they had to be dragged apart by David and Myra.

When they had finally calmed down, David and Myra had an evaluation of their battles and made some comments on how they could have fought more effectively.

"First, I thought that the first battle was the best in terms of strategy, and the last was also quite good. Well planned. Taking advantage of Derrick's temper," grinned David.

"It was very smart and brave of Landon to take Cam's attack, but I think he's going overboard with the I-can't-get-hurt-thing," murmured Myra in a quiet aside.

"Even though both Kristen and Landon are not from defense factions, they found a good way to counter Cam and Layne's plans. That being said, Landon. Why did you get hurt from the last attack?"

Landon shrugged.

"He's strong."

Cam's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"For the second battle, nice job attacking from behind Dylan there, Kemp," commented Myra, eyeing a blushing Claire.

"Who thought up that last plan?" asked David curiously.

Massie grinned and pointed at Alicia.

"Well done. Good job using your defense. My only comment for that is that your should have attacked Derrick instead of Josh. He would have been way easier to take down," laughed David.

"Enough," snarled Myra warningly.

"Okay, okay," David held his hands up in a placating gesture, "now who wants to know what factions they belong to?"

"Oh, just tell them already," snapped Myra irritably.

"Derrick, flame attack faction. A lot of strength and nothing else. Dylan, ash defense faction. High attack, above average defense. Massie, wave attack faction. High defense, above average attack. Chris, lake heal faction. High defense, counteraction of poisons and healing. Layne, celestial heal faction, high healing and defense. Kemp, sand wild faction, sandstorm summon attack. Um, that's an attack with severe damage and can blind temporarily. Alicia, soil defend faction, very high defense. Claire, wind gale faction, high critical attack. Josh, cloud wild faction, wind blade attack. Very serious critical damage there. Cam, guide defend faction, clear vision, above average defense. Kristen, oracle wild faction, premonitions, clear vision and spirit instinct."

"Landon, unknown, again," muttered Massie, staring at the boy.

Alicia followed her gaze and realised, with a jolt, that he was the only one who hadn't revealed his attack.

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...review?


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